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Signs of Dyslexia in Students

September 26, 2017

Affecting up to 12% of school age children, students with
the learning disabilities designated as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and oral and
written language learning disability (OWL LD) are characterized by impaired
abilities in oral language, reading, handwriting, spelling, and writing. While
experts aren’t sure what causes these disabilities, they to tend to run in
families, and affect the areas of the brain associated with processing
language. Difficulty with reading and
spelling is connected to problems relating letters and words to their
corresponding speech sounds, a process known as decoding.

Although many of these students struggle academically due to
their disability, it is important to note that individuals with dyslexia have
normal intelligence and vision. Furthermore, they
typically possess significant strengths and abilities, such as expansive
creative abilities, that are often overlooked or misunderstood.

While there isn’t a cure for dyslexia, early identification,
assessment, and intervention can help students thrive in the classroom. Teachers
often play an important role in identifying the signs and symptoms of dyslexia
when they become more obvious, usually during the elementary school years as
students learn to read and write. The severity of symptoms varies from child to
child, but there are certain signs teachers can look out for.

Dyslexia Symptoms in
the Classroom

The following are some of the most common symptoms
of dyslexia that appear in a classroom setting. However, these signs may not be
evident in all individuals with dyslexia, and this list does not include all
possible symptoms.

Difficulty Spelling and Reading

As students learn to read, they may make seemingly
random guesses at words based on word shape. They might also reverse letters
while learning to write, such as writing “d” instead of “b.” While all children
occasionally reverse letters during the early stages of learning to write, the
problem persists beyond the second or third grade in students with dyslexia.
Understanding words with multiple syllables is also difficult for students with
dyslexia. Other common signs include misreading short words, such as “a” and “as,”
and “then” and “there.” Students with dyslexia often rely on spelling words
phonetically, making homophones particularly tricky.

Poor Memory Recall

Memorizing non-personal facts can be difficult for many
children with dyslexia. In addition, they may struggle with memorizing a
sequence of steps, especially when there is no logic involved, and with number
sequences, phone numbers, multiplication tables, the alphabet, and more.
However, facts that are personally relevant, such as their own address and phone
number, are often non-issues.

Messy Handwriting

This is one of the most obvious signs teachers can look for in
the classroom. Students frequently deal with dysgraphia, or difficulty writing.
They struggle with staying in the lines and writing letters consistently. Because
individuals with dyslexia often have weak fine motor skills, watch for abnormal
pencil grip and students who move their whole arm to write rather than their
fingers. They might also hold their arm or wrist in an awkward position while
writing.

Directional Issues

Students with dyslexia also struggle to differentiate directional
differences, such as left and right, top and bottom, and more. It is difficult
for them to understand these abstract concepts, which often results in the
letter reversals covered above. Or, for example, if students are supposed to
write their name in the top-right corner of a page and they frequently write it
elsewhere, they may struggle with understanding directional differences. The term “directional dyslexia” is often used
to describe these issues.

Struggles
with Math

Many children with dyslexia also struggle
with mathematics skills, due to the memorization and sequential processing
weaknesses associated with this learning disability. In older students, algebra
can be particularly problematic because it mixes both letters and numbers. In
addition, students with dyslexia will have difficulty understanding word
problems. Reading comprehension is hard for them, so they may not understand
what they’re being asked to do.

Strengths of Students
With Dyslexia

Research using magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) has revealed differences not only in sizes of
portions of the left and right hemispheres of the brain, but differences in the
corpus callosum, a band of nerve fibers connecting
the two hemispheres which is much larger in dyslexics. These neurological differences seem to account
for some significant strengths individuals with dyslexia often display.
According to The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity, children and adults
with dyslexia are highly creative and have many cognitive and emotional strengths. One example is
improved pattern recognition. Individuals with dyslexia are great at understanding
complex systems and identifying similarities among groups. They often have
strong spatial reasoning, and are able to mentally manipulate 3-D objects and understand the relationship between shapes. They also have
enhanced picture recognition memory and an intuitive approach to problem
solving.

It's important for teachers to understand a student with dyslexia as a whole person, with strengths as well as weaknesses. For
example, teachers can identify tasks students are good at and acknowledge them
during one-on-one instruction, as well as encouraging them to use
outside-the-box thinking when it comes to problem solving. Teachers can also
provide alternative ways of accessing information, such as visual displays and graphic organizers.

For more information about helping students with dyslexia
have positive learning outcomes, take a look at our course, Understanding
Dyslexia. It is designed to provide you with an introduction to dyslexia
and similar learning disabilities, as well as strategies to support students
both socially and emotionally. This course focuses on differentiated
instruction in oral language, reading, and writing skills. You can also browse
a complete list of our courses here.